Even for the best of teams, playing down a man for 80 minutes is a most difficult task. Thanks to an idiotic Ederson red card, Manchester City suffered to a 3-2 defeat to Wolverhampton on Friday.
Despite two first-half goals from Raheem Sterling after City went down to 10 men, Wolves rallied with three in the second half to beat City, further denting Pep Guardiola’s title defense.
A meeting between first and second in the Premier League was more one-sided than anyone could’ve predicted as Liverpool ran riot at the home of Leicester City on Thursday evening, winning 4-0 with a masterclass in both attack and defense.
Manchester United punished Newcastle United 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday thanks to a devastating performance from the front three of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood. Newcastle’s Matty Longstaff scored the game’s opening goal in the 17th minute, but the Red Devils replied with four unanswered (three of which were down to Newcastle errors) to climb to seventh in the table.
Tottenham’s top four aspirations were lifted Thursday following a 2-1 win over Brighton at Spurs’ Stadium. Brighton took a first half lead through Adam Webster, but Tottenham roared back with second half strikes from Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Alli’s classy winner in the 72nd minute was a continuation of the Englishman’s fine form under manager José Mourinho: since the Portuguese’s appointment, Alli has scored five goals and provided three assists in eight games.
“When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master,” is what Frank Lampard presumably said to José Mourinho following Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Sunday. After suffering four defeats in their last five Premier League games, Lampard elected to switch to a back three and relied on excellent performances from Willian, Mason Mount and Marcos Alonso to drive Mourinho’s side inside its shell at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Monterrey gave Liverpool all it could handle in today’s FIFA Club World Cup semifinal in Qatar. The two sides exchanged early goals through Naby Keïta and Rogelio Funes Mori, but it was the substitute Roberto Firmino who scored the dramatic winner in second half stoppage time to book Liverpool’s place in the final, where they’ll meet Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo.
Jurgen Klopp was out of town. All the club’s top players were out of town. Basically all of Liverpool’s first team was in Doha, Qatar, preparing for a Club World Cup semifinal against Monterrey.
So Liverpool left U-23 coach Neil Critchley in charge of a bunch of kids for the club’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Aston Villa. The Reds got smashed.
Arsenal threw Mesut Özil under the bus, but it wasn’t even enough to save the Gunners’ match against Manchester City on Sunday from being blacked out in China.
Kevin De Bruyne is not the fastest player. He’s not the strongest nor is he even particularly physically imposing. But De Bruyne vs Arsenal was an absolute joy to watch on Sunday.
De Bruyne had two goals and an assist in the first half alone as Manchester City ripped Arsenal to shreds 3-0 at the Emirates on Sunday. The redheaded Belgian was at his glorious best, dictating the match and providing fantastic finishes. If not for Gunners keeper Bernd Leno, KDB would’ve had at least three or four goals.
Leonel Vangioni booked a date with Liverpool with one monstrous lash of his left foot.
Monterrey’s 31-year-old Argentine left back launched a stunning long-range goal to help his team beat Al-Sadd 3-2 in the Club World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday in Qatar. The victory sends Los Rayados to the semifinals against UEFA Champions League champion Liverpool on Wednesday.